Government— Page 2
Showing stories 51–74 of 217.
Charlotte Mayor Will Be Appointed; More Than 100 Applied
More than 100 people applied to be Charlotte's next mayor, and about 30 made their case in person at a June 15 council forum. The next mayor will be appointed, not elected, by 11 council members, with a vote targeted for June 22.
What Changes July 1 When the MPTA Takes Over CATS
On July 1, the Charlotte Area Transit System stops being a city department and passes to the MPTA, a 27-member appointed board, along with a new one-cent tax meant to raise $19.4 billion over thirty years. Here is what changes, what stays the same, and the questions the board carries in unfinished, starting with the one it could not resolve on June 10: whether the Gold Line streetcar should be free.
Charlotte council approves 150-day data center moratorium
The pause runs through about November 5, and the city attorney said state law exempts projects that already hold valid building permits.
MEDIC's Raise Is in the County Budget but Isn't Funded Yet
Mecklenburg County's new budget raised 721 county workers to a living wage but left MEDIC's paramedics and EMTs out, their raise sits in restricted contingency, pending two studies and a second vote. Three commissioners who lost the fight to fund it now used the adoption to signal they aren't done.
Mecklenburg's Sure-Thing Budget Took Most of an Hour to Pass
Mecklenburg County's 2026-27 budget was a foregone conclusion, but adopting it still took the board most of an hour, through nine contract recusals, a failed park-appointment slate, three motions to reconsider, and a candidate name nobody could keep straight. Chair Mark Jerrell narrated the mess himself: "It was clunky."
Charlotte Committee Advances Citywide Street Vending Rules
A Charlotte City Council committee voted 4-1 to keep exploring a criminal-penalty option for repeat street-vending offenders and unanimously advanced citywide vending regulation, sending both to the full council. Three members said they were uneasy about attaching a criminal charge to selling on a sidewalk.
Transit Board Says Goodbye to Brent Cagle, Who Steadied CATS
At the MTC's final meeting, members praised interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle for steadying an agency in crisis since he arrived in December 2022. The tributes land as the MPTA's national search for a permanent CEO, a job Cagle is eligible to pursue, runs in parallel.
Council Backs 10% Firefighter Raise in 10-1 Straw Vote
Charlotte City Council voted 10-1 Monday to direct the city manager to give the Charlotte Fire Department the same 10 percent raise as police, closing a pay gap that drew months of firefighter protest. The $4.4 million cost comes from fire overtime and public-safety technology budgets. Final budget adoption is June 8.
Outgoing Charlotte Transit Board Approves New Fare System
The Metropolitan Transit Commission's final vote adopted the CATS Fare Modernization Program, tap-and-go payments, electronic validation, a new streetcar fare, and expanded reduced fares, phased in over 2027-2028. A cash-rider equity question raised repeatedly in public comment went unresolved on the record.
Transit Commission Holds Final Meeting, Hands CATS to MPTA
The Metropolitan Transit Commission held its final meeting May 27 after 27 years, adopting an amended CATS fare policy and formally handing operational control to the new Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority. The MPTA takes over July 1, the same day the one-cent PAVE Act transit tax takes effect.
Charlotte Transit's 27-Year Build, in One Timeline
Charlotte went from a bus-only city to a rail-connected region to an independent transit authority in 27 years. A companion to the Mercury's coverage of the MTC's dissolution, laid out as a single annotated timeline.
Mecklenburg commissioners advance FY27 budget to June 2 vote
A 7-1 vote sends the FY2027 operating budget to ordinance-drafting for June 2 adoption. Roughly $1.6 million in additional fund-balance allocations cleared. MEDIC's proposed $25.53/hr wage-floor move was deferred 5-3 to restricted contingency pending two outside studies.
Mecklenburg adds $1.6 million for 13 community programs
Thirteen new fund-balance allocations cleared at Thursday's FY27 straw vote, eleven external community partners plus two internal Park & Rec restorations. The $10,000 Carolina Raptor Center maintenance award passed over Manager Bryant's stated opposition.
Mecklenburg board parks MEDIC wage-floor move
A late substitute motion placed $2,293,759 in restricted contingency rather than fund a same-day move of MEDIC's EMT minimum wage to the new $25.53 county floor. Three commissioners stayed certain and lost. Two outside studies, by July and November, will inform the next decision.
Charlotte Council Opens Interim Mayor Applications
Charlotte's city council voted Tuesday to open applications for an interim mayor, 19 days after Mayor Vi Lyles announced her resignation, and the 2027 race question is already on the form.
Charlotte hears residents on data center pause; vote June 8
Speakers centered on three projects: two approved hyperscale data centers and a third, by American Tower Corporation, proposed in East Charlotte.
$118M Matthews Training Center Opponents Speak at Hearing
Inside the $2.6 billion budget Mecklenburg commissioners adopt June 2 is the county's share of a $118 million public-safety training complex in Matthews, Central Piedmont's "Community Lifeline," which opponents call "Cop City." At the May 21 budget hearing, a transparency lawsuit and a cluster of opponents collided with a board that, by its own rule, would not respond.
The I-77 South Toll Lane Project Is Effectively Dead
CRTPO voted May 20 to withdraw support for the I-77 South toll lanes, all but ending a $3.2 billion expansion, removing it from the state's ten-year construction plan, and putting an estimated $700 million in state funding on a path out of the region.
How CRTPO Works and Why Charlotte's Vote Weighs So Much
One regional board ended a multibillion-dollar state project. Here is what CRTPO is, how its weighted vote works, and why Charlotte's bloc is large enough to decide the outcome.
Mecklenburg Budget Hearing: Flat Tax Rate, Long Line of Asks
County Manager Michael Bryant's recommended FY2027 budget holds Mecklenburg's property tax rate flat and fully funds Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. At a three-and-a-half-hour public hearing, about sixty residents and nonprofit leaders told the Board of County Commissioners what that budget still leaves out, while a few urged them to pass it as written. No vote was taken; the board is set to adopt the budget June 2.
Manor Theater Redevelopment Approved
Charlotte City Council on Monday unanimously approved a partial rezoning of the Manor Theater site on Providence Road, clearing the way for SLRH Acquisitions to redevelop the long-closed Eastover landmark into 120 to 130 residential units and roughly 35,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Three council members, Kimberly Owens, Danté Anderson, and J.D. Mazuera Arias, walked the room through their first memories of the building before the vote.
49-Unit Faith in Housing Petition Reaches Council Hearing
Mission City Church, Freedom Communities, and the True Homes Foundation walked Charlotte City Council through their 49-townhome affordable-housing petition Monday night. The 5.38-acre Faith in Housing rezoning is petition 2025-027 in District 2, all units sold (not rented), House Charlotte eligible, with a seven-year deed restriction. Council Member LaWana Slack-Mayfield used the floor for what is now her third public Faith in Housing argument of 2026: the program label, she said, is not "an automatic check."
Manufacturing Land Near Woodlawn Station Just Became TOD-NC
The Charlotte City Council on Monday rezoned a 0.16-acre Verbena Street parcel from ML-2 (manufacturing and logistics) to TOD-NC, 7-2. Council Member LaWana Slack-Mayfield and Council Member Renée Johnson voted no, not on the parcel, on the trajectory it represents. Council Member Victoria Watlington voted yes but asked staff to map Charlotte's remaining manufacturing-zoned acreage.
Covering the State Costs Mecklenburg $400M, About 16 Cents
At Mecklenburg County's May 20 budget overview, Budget Director Adrian Cox put a number on what the county spends covering the state's share of CMS: more than $400 million, about sixteen cents of the property-tax rate. The recommended FY27 budget holds the rate flat by shifting a penny between funds, but the structural gap remains.